


witches and witch hazel

by demistories



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Cats, Developing Relationship, F/M, Familiars, Magic, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 05:37:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8192204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demistories/pseuds/demistories
Summary: Half an hour later, Marinette stands in front of the flower shop. Alya was right, it’s cute. It’s small and quaint. It looks like it would have stranger plants.    Marinette is a witch who can't grow plants for the life of her and Adrien owns a flower shop.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i did a quick 10 minute writing challenge on tumblr with the au: i’m a witch who can’t grow plants for the life of me and you own a flower shop. i liked it a lot and so did a lot of other people so here we are!!!
> 
> some spookiness for your october oooo ahhhhh
> 
> enjoy!

Marinette groans and puts her head down on the book. She immediately jerks back, wiping the dust off her cheek and trying not to sneeze. Note to self: don’t lay down on old spell books. 

She’s pretty sure the universe is against her. Of course this spell would require plants. Plants that she didn’t have and wouldn’t be able to grow. The last thing she tried to grow died in less than two days. It’s honestly getting embarrassing. Tikki jokes that Marinette’s thumbs are too red to be green, but is she wrong? 

Alya had offhandedly mentioned a flower shop the other day. A cute little thing with some rarer plants. Marinette glances down at the book in front of her. What are the chances? 

She decides that if she doesn’t try she can’t do the spell. There are only so many alternative spells before you just have to use plants. 

Half an hour later, Marinette stands in front of the flower shop. Alya was right, it’s cute. It’s small and quaint. It looks like it would have stranger plants. Now does it have what Marinette needs is the real question. 

A bell jingles softly when she pushes the door open. She’s hit with overwhelming smell of flowers. Everywhere she looks there’s green with bursts of color. The walls are lined with flowers and behind a row of roses there’s a small counter. 

Marinette is very careful not to touch anything as she makes her way up to it. She doesn’t kill plants just by touching them but she doesn’t want to take any risks. That’d be unfortunate. 

She hesitates slightly before ringing the little golden bell that’s sitting on the counter top. It pierces through the air and the slight haze that fills the flower shop. Some other…something that Marinette can’t name but it’s definitely there. 

Almost immediately, someone steps out of the back room. “Hi!” he says with a bright smile. “How can I help you?” 

She’s caught off guard by his brilliant green eyes. Then she reminds herself that she has a purpose for being here and it’s not to stare at cute flower shop boys. “Do you have any ague root?”

His face twists in thought and Marinette turns to study the lilies that are in a vase next to the cash register. Very pretty. Very distracting. 

“I think those are native to North America,” he says after a moment. “I barely recognize the name, so I doubt we have them.” 

“Hm…” Marinette pulls a battered notebook out of her bag. She carefully flips through the pages until she finds what she needs, dragging her finger down the column of plant name. “If I just start listing plants can you tell me you if you have any?” 

He blinks in surprise. “Um…sure.” 

 “I-I know it’s a weird request, just go with it,” Marinette stutters. Then she launches into the list because she really wants to just straight up die instead of continuing this conversation. Way to ruin chances with the cute flower shop boy, good going. “Acacia, African violet, agrimony, aloe, althea, alyssum, amaranth, anemone, angelica, an— wait no not angelica, scratch that. Anise…” She skims the list, murmuring to herself. If it has to do with exorcism it won’t do her any good. “Balm of Gilead, bay, bittersweet, calamus, chrysanthemum—”

“I definitely have chrysanthemum,” he interrupts. “I have a bunch in the back.” 

Marinette glances up from her notebook. “R-really?” 

He nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, if you hold on a second I’ll go grab a few so you can pick out which ones you like best.” 

“That’d be great!” she says quickly. And she really really hopes this won’t mess with the spell too much. Tikki is going to be less than thrilled. When he disappears into the back, she sighs and leans against the counter. She really needs more back up plans. 

She pushes away quickly when he comes back out with an armful of flowers. 

“These are all the different chrysanthemums I have,” he says. “Do you see any you like?”

She has to stop herself from saying ‘Oh it doesn’t really matter, I’m just throwing them in a cauldron. Which ones are the cheapest?’ She picks up one of the chrysanthemums that’s a bright shade of light pink. “This one’s pretty.”   
“Mona Lisa Pink,” he says immediately. “Are those the ones you want?” 

Marinette finds herself nodding as she lifts the flower to her nose to smell it. “Yes please.” 

“How many?” 

She balks. “Uh…” 

He smiles at her and her mind goes even more blank. “How about a dozen?” he asks. “That’s a really basic bouquet.” 

“Y-yeah. Yeah! That’d be great!” She puts the flower down. “Thanks.” 

❧ ☙

“Did you get it?” Tikki asks.

“Um... not exactly,” Marinette admits. 

Plagg snickers as she pulls the bouquet out from behind her back. “That’s not ague root,” he says as he stretches out his back. 

Tikki leaps up onto the wooden chair. “It’s not,” she agrees. “I don’t think ague root is pink.” 

Marinette plays with the paper and plastic the chrysanthemums are wrapped in. The plastic is slightly translucent and is a green reminiscent of the boy’s eyes. “They’re Mona Lisa Pink Chrysanthemums.” She sighs and puts the bouquet down at the table. “He didn’t have any ague root and I was…distracted.” 

“Oh?” Plagg slips down from his perch on the shelf that he’d claimed as his own. “Now what could’ve been  _ distracting _ ?” he purrs, swishing his tail. 

Marinette feels her cheeks heat up. “No one,” she mutters. She pulls her notebook out of her bag and puts it on top of a stack of spell books.

“No one?” Tikki asks. 

“Nothing!” Marinette says quickly. 

“Oooooooo,” Plagg drawls. He climbs on top of the notebook and lays down. “He was cute, wasn’t he?”

“I have dibs,” she blurts out. Now that’s out of the way. 

He snickers. 

“You’re a cat,” Marinette mutters. “Stop judging me.” 

Plagg hisses at her. “Don’t insult me. I can judge you when I’m a cat just as well as I can when I’m a demon.” 

“You’re always a demon,” Tikki reminds him gently.

Plagg nods his head. “And I expect to treated with the same respect all demons get.”

“Will chrysanthemums even work?” Marinette asks Tikki.

Tikki climbs up onto the table and sniffs the flowers. “They might turn the potion a bit…well, pink. But I do think that you’ll be safe. I’d be careful. And also follow the instructions next time?” Tikki gives Marinette a look and Marinette is still caught off guard by how well cats can do a firm ‘do as you’re told’ face. 

“I’ll try,” Marinette promises. “This would be easier if I just had my own garden.” 

Tikki tsks her tongue. “We all know how that would end.” 

Plagg snorts. “I don’t know, I think maybe you should try again.” 

Tikki flicks her tail at him. “Shush.” 

“I kind of want to avoid killing more plants,” Marinette muses. She pulls out one of the chrysanthemums out of the bouquet and strokes a petal with her finger. 

“If you start doing that ‘he loves me, he loves me not’ thing, I’ll be heading back to hell,” Plagg says.  

Tikki closes her eyes. “We aren’t even  _ from _ hell, Plagg.”

“Well I hope that it’s nice because I’m on my way.” 

Marinette throws the flower at him. He immediately starts eating it. 

“Plagg!” Tikki scolds. 

Marinette freezes. “Wait. Chrysanthemums. Are they poisonous to cats?” 

Plagg looks up to her with a bored expression. “Sweetheart, I’m a familiar. I’m thousands of years old. A little pink flower isn’t going to be my downfall.” 

“All parts of chrysanthemums are potentially poisonous to cats,” Tikki says flatly. “Unless you plan on spending the rest of the day dying until you heal yourself, I advise you to turn into something that’s neither cat nor dog. Actually, stay away from all mammals.” 

Plagg slowly gets to his feet. “I’m going to be a sparrow for a few hours. Because I feel like flying. That is why.” 

“Of course,” Tikki says seriously. She looks to Marinette and rolls her eyes. 

Plagg jumps to the floor. “No funny business while I’m gone.”

Tikki prods the abandoned, half eaten flower with her paw. “All of the funny is leaving with you.”

“Which is why you two are so  _ boring _ .” 

“Is he going to be okay?” Marinette asks once Plagg has climbed out the window. 

“He’ll be fine,” Tikki promises. “Maybe a little sick, but nothing time won’t fix. Mostly I just wanted him to stop eating the flower.” 

“Understandable.” 

“What might not be so understandable is you bailing on Nino and Alya with no warning,” Tikki says. 

Marinette gasps and digs her phone out of her bag. “That was today?!” She chews on her lip as she scrolls through Alya’s text messages. 

“That was ten minutes ago,” Tikki says calmly. “You spent longer out at the shops than I thought you were going to. I would’ve reminded you.” 

“Can you put these in a vase with water so they don’t wilt?” Marinette asks, motioning to the chrysanthemums. 

“Sure. Now go before Alya starts calling.” 

Marinette shudders. “You’re right. That would be bad.” She presses a quick kiss to the top of Tikki’s head. “Thank you! I’ll see you later!” She groans as her phone starts buzzing just as she’s locking the door behind her. “Al, before you say a word, I’m already on my way.

❧ ☙

“ _ So _ ,” Nino rests his arm on the back of the couch. “I heard from a little birdy that you met someone while you were out today.” 

“Dibs,” Marinette says immediately. She’ll have to yell at Plagg later for telling Nino things that he shouldn’t know yet. 

“Do you have a witness?” Alya asks.

“Plagg,” Marinette says smugly. 

Nino snorts. “When have we ever trusted Plagg?” 

She pushes his face away. “Be quiet and respect my dib. Besides, Tikki was there too.” 

Alya makes herself comfortable next to Nino. “Did you tell him?” 

Marinette frowns. “Why would I tell him?” 

Alya and Nino exchange a look. “Why wouldn’t you tell him?” 

Marinette rolls her eyes. “When would I even say that? It’s not something you can just drop into conversation.” 

“Uh, duh,” Alya says. “After your name.” She sits up straight and offers Nino her hand. “Hi! I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m nineteen, a fashion design major, and a witch. I own two part time cats, I’m a gemini, and I like long walks on beach. My favorite color is pink, my day off is Tuesday, and when I go out into the city to do witch-y stuff I go by the name of Ladybug here’s my number.” She pretends to hand a piece of paper to Nino. 

“Oh come on Al!” Marinette protests. “I didn’t even tell him my name!” 

Alya drops her arm. “Why not?!” 

“I was just buying flowers! We didn’t need to know each other’s names for that!” 

“I’m disappointed in you,” she says seriously. 

Marinette groans. 

Nino frowns at his phone. “Hey, I have to go take this. Theo’s having lighting problems.” 

“Oh Theo,” Alya murmurs as Nino gets up from the couch. She moves to claim Nino’s spot. “Come on, Mar. Telling your name to the cute flower shop boy would’ve been the first step.” 

Marinette gives her a flat look. “Did  _ you _ tell him your name?” 

“No,” Alya admits. “ _ But _ , I wasn’t trying to get into his pants.” 

“ _ Alya _ !” 

“What?” Alya laughs as she pats away Marinette’s hands. “I wasn’t!” 

“Neither am I!” Marinette protests. 

“Oh come on, you didn’t think about it?” 

Marinette glares at her. “ _ No _ , I  _ didn’t _ .” 

Alya bats her eyes. “It was all pure and innocent?”

“Alya, if you keep talking I’m literally going to  _ strangle you _ ,” Marinette threatens. 

“She’ll make good on that, babe,” Nino pipes up from the doorway. “Watch out.” 

Alya makes a kissy face at Marinette. 

Marinette gives her a flat look before squeezing Alya’s lips together with her fingers. “This is your own fault.” 

Alya’s eyes go wide as she realizes she can’t unstick her lips. She tries to pull them apart with her hands. Marinette just raises an eyebrow. 

Alya buries her head in her hands for a moment before giving Marinette the middle finger. Then she stands up and walks over to Nino. She taps him on the shoulder until he turns to look at her. 

“Dude, can you wait a minute, I’m—” 

Alya yanks him down into a quick kiss.

“Really?” Nino asks when she pulls away. 

“Blame Marinette,” Alya says. She pats Nino’s chest. “Thanks, bae.” She crosses her arms before turning to look at Marinette. 

Marinette finds her nails incredibly fascinating. 

“I’m going to murder you,” Alya says, tugging on Marinette’s hair as she passes behind the couch. 

“You should be happy I let these little things be broken with a kiss. You should also be glad you have someone to kiss.” 

Alya hops over the back of the couch. “You too could have someone to kiss! By following this easy two step process of introducing yourself and  _ asking him out _ .” 

Marinette scowls. “Alya, I’ve literally met him once. We’ve never had a conversation that wasn’t about flowers. That seems like it’s pushing it.” 

“Hm let me think about it.” Alya taps her finger on her chin. “Nope, no it’s not.” 

“You said this is a two step process,” Marinette says. “So maybe I’ll just…put lots of little steps between them. Step one part one, two, three, four—”

Alya grabs Marinette by the shoulders. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng just ask the cute flower shop boy out.” 

“Next time I see him.” 

* * *

The bell rings when Marinette pushes open the door to the flower shop.

She approaches the counter with a little more ease this time. Maybe it’s less ease and more of her anxieties have been shifted to a new place. She rings the bell and rocks back on her heels while she waits. 

He appears with a halo of blond hair and sparkling green eyes. “Hi! How can I help you today?” 

“Do you—” Nope. Not happening. Marinette forces a smile. “Do you have any pennyroyal or valerian?”

He purses his lips. “I don’t think I have valerian but I do have pennyroyal. Would you like me to get you some?” 

“Yes please,” she says with a nod. She is definitely making more steps in Alya’s two step plan. At least she got something she needs out of it. “I’m Marinette, by the way,” she says before the boy disappears into the back. 

“Adrien,” he says with a brilliant smile.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been using [this site](http://witcheslore.com/bookofshadows/herbology/plant-and-herb-magic-2/1174/) for witches flowers, but none have much meaning other than the chapter titles. hoo boy do i like my flower symbolism!!!!
> 
> i'm on [tumblr](http://sadrien.tumblr.com/tagged/my-fics) if you wanna talking spookiness with me!


End file.
